One awesome thing about WebAssembly is that it makes a lot of sense as an extension language. Instead of building around the JVM or .NET to get access to languages on those platforms and instead of standardizing on one embedded language (Lua, Python or JavaScript), I can use anything that supports WebAssembly and double dip with that same ecosystem working in the browser. And that list of supported languages will only continue to grow since we finally have an alternative to compiling to JavaScript.

Now, I don't think it'll "take over" the way C has, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see it edging out other VMs in many contexts, like the Lua or Python VMs, which may end up porting to WebAssembly instead of trying to justify another dependency for your app.

I hope we'll finally get to the point where I can choose what language to use for a specific task based on the merits of the language instead of making the larger argument that it's worth getting it to work in our existing app.

HN comment:

I've been watching efforts to port Lua to WebAssembly (the official VM looks simple enough, but luajit won't be easy) because I want to have an app that shares code with the browser, and it would be awesome to play with WebAssembly as the plugin system of choice on the backend.

I'm also super excited for nebulet[1], which is a micro-kernel experiment using WebAssembly in Ring 0, which is pretty neat.

I'm really excited to see where WebAssembly can go. I know many of these projects will peter out, but it's exciting nonetheless.

I'm really excited to see where WebAssembly can go. I know many of these projects will peter out, but it's exciting nonetheless.

Absolutely. On the Lua front someone made a PoC to add Lua as a language for Iodide [1] using Fengari [2] which (while I haven't used it yet) definitely looks interesting. Hadn't heard of Nebulet before but will definitely be following it now. Cheers!

Corona is a cross-platform framework ideal for rapidly creating apps and games for mobile devices and desktop systems. That means you can create your project once and publish it to multiple types of devices, including Apple iPhone and iPad, Android phones and tablets, Amazon Fire, Mac Desktop, Windows Desktop, and even connected TVs such as Apple TV, Fire TV, and Android TV.

Lua-based

Lua is an open source scripting language designed to be lightweight, fast, yet also powerful. Lua is currently the leading scripting language in games and has been utilized in Warcraft ™, Angry Birds ™, Civilization ™ and many other popular franchises.

Completely free

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No matter if you are an indie developer or a large publisher, you will never pay for core functionality.

Corona is a free, cross-platform framework ideal for creating games and apps for mobile devices and desktop systems. Using the powerful but easy-to-learn Lua scripting language, over 1000 built-in APIs, a vast selection of plugins, and Corona Native extensions (C/C++/Obj-C/Java), you can bring your app dreams to reality. You can even monitor projects instantly on multiple devices using Live Builds. These features and more are all part of the Corona ecosystem!

From the stack overflow thread:

I've been developing a mobile application in Lua to control robots remotely from iOS and Android phones. The app is in pure Lua and runs on top of Mosync platform using MobileLua. There is still some plumbing required, but it's not too complex.

I also have a debugger and a Lua IDE (ZeroBraneStudio) that support debugging of Lua scripts running remotely (including MobileLua scripts running on Android or iOS devices). I provide a demo app you can use as a client to run simple scripts and check remote debugging in action.

[Update] If you are interested in more game oriented options, there are several available: (1) already mentioned Corona SDK, (2) Moai, and (3) Gideros Mobile. There is also Marmalade Quick and Cocos2d-x Lua bindings (for example, quick-cocos2d-x). All these toolkits/frameworks allow to develop in Lua.